Photo by MTV News
Dave Mustaine is scheduled to begin mixing the new Megadeth album ’somewhere around the middle of March/beginning of April, the guitarist/vocalist revealed in an online posting.
The time factor is based on [producer/mixer] Jeff Balding [Jewel, Trisha Yearwood, Lonestar, Shania Twain] squeezing this session into his previously booked schedule. This worked out great for me because I always wanted to get some perspective in-between and away from the sessions but never had the opportunity. A late summer release through Sanctuary Records is expected.
In other news, Mustaine recently addressed the reasons for Megadeth’s numerous lineup changes over the years and explained his decision to release a new Megadeth album with a virtually entirely new band.
I am aware of everyone’s curiosity about my decisions as of late, and how things may never be as good as back when such and such was in the band, Mustaine began. Also, that you read this guy said this, and that guy said that, in this magazine or another. It is time to address these things.
Fortunately, I don’t believe what I read from band members when they are being interviewed, because I too have been caught up in the moment when the tape is rolling, and the little ’shit stirrers are trying to goad me into going off on someone.
Every story ever written why people got fired, quit, or pouted about something I did had to do with either my keeping all the money (which isn’t true) or my not using their music (which in most cases was true due to the quality).
I have laughed over the years at the bullshit stories from former members about how they were asked to leave or quit, how the idiots from the labels back then said they were wrestling with me and what not, and I can’t help but think, what fucking planet were they all on?
If you were around when Gar Samuelson and Chris Poland were in the band, you probably felt a little uneasy when they were asked to leave. What was to become of the Megadeth that you know and love?
Gar and Chris were great, true, but drugs and an enormous gap in musical differences, let alone dedication to other things, left me wanting. I did have the grace of seeing Gar a few times before his untimely death, and Chris and I are friends now.
However, when a person does an interview, something strange happens. I dunno you just become a smart-ass. So, whatever was said before this session when Chris was out here doesn’t, I repeat, doesn’t matter to me.
Let me assure you, Chris abso-fucking-lutely shredded on the new songs. Whether he is into metal or Megadeth anymore, or not, who gives a shit? He shredded. End of subject Poland killed it!
And the remix of Peace Sells is even better than the 5.1 DVD, since that was not remixed and only put into Surround Sound format.
Once I had found a replacement for Gar and Chris, Megadeth went on. In retrospect, people have said this second line-up was not as good as the previous line-up. To which I said, Bite me.
Chuck Behler and Jeff Young came into my world and I had my hands full. But it still worked and one of my favorite songs came from this period In My Darkest Hour.
I had bellyaches for years about the production and all of the reverb on So Far, So Good, So What!, but I had a rude awakening during the remixes. We made a great record, which you will see, now that it is properly mixed, and Michael Wagener did what he had to with SF, SG, SW! The production and the playing were horrible, but the songs were not.
I know that Chuck and Jeff are going to be very excited to hear how great they sound.
I am!
Now, when Chuck and Jeff were asked to leave, it had to do with Chuck having different priorities, and Jeff having his eye on something that belonged to me.
If you were around when Chuck and Jeff were in the band, you probably felt a little uneasy when they were asked to leave. What was to become of the Megadeth that you know and love?
I had found replacements for Chuck and Jeff, and Megadeth went on. Once again, people said this line-up was not as good as the previous line-up. To which I repeated, Bite me.
Nick Menza and Marty Friedman came into my world and I had my hands full. But it still worked and many of my favorite songs came from this period Sweating, Symphony, Holy Wars , Trust, etc.
I had been satisfied for years with the production of RIP, but I had a rude awakening during the remixes. Sure, David Junior Ellefson was consistently great, and Marty was amazing too, but the best performances of RIP were by Nick.
And that was why I still hold to my belief that since there is no chance of a RIP line-up reunion that Nick should be in another supergroup. Playing solos for people or just having a job in the music business may be fitting for some of the past members, but Nick is just too much to put into words, and should be on top of the heap again.
I did not say that Nick is dying, or that we need to force him to sober up, or anything of the sort. Only that he ripped it up on RIP.
I know that Nick and Marty are going to be very excited to hear how great they sound on RIP. And I did have my doubts that I could make this one sound any better.
But, I did!
Remember the reasons that Nick is not in Megadeth anymore: he said he had cancer, and was partying to extremes where he couldn’t perform. Marty agreed that Nick needed to go, and suggested Junior get the boot too, which I understood.
After I had found a replacement for Nick, Megadeth went on. Again, people said this line-up was not as good as the previous line-up. To which I said, you guessed it, Bite me.
Jimmy DeGrasso came into my world and I had my hands full. But it still worked.
I am really looking forward to making the records with Jimmy sound the way that I wanted them to sound and not the way Bud Prager, Dann Huff, or Capitol Records wanted. I will keep you posted on that.
Remember the reason that Marty is not in Megadeth anymore: he wanted to be in a pop band with a female singer in Japan.
He quit.
That is what he is currently doing, and I am happy for him.
I had found a new guitarist, but certainly not a replacement for Marty, and even still, MEGADETH went on. In a d j vu moment, people said this line-up was not as good as the previous line-up. To which I mumbled, Bite me.
Al Pitrelli came into my world and I had my hands full. But it still worked and one of my favorite songs came from this period Kill The King.
Now, you all know that I injured my arm and took time off to focus on my family, and the result is that I am completely healed, and my family is great.
Things are so great that I have gone into the studio with Vinnie Colaiuta and Jimmy Sloas to make a new record. Sure it started off as just being a record, but there was so much stuff left over from my early years, I wanted a clean slate for what I do next.
That is why I decided to make this a Megadeth record. All of this music was written 100% by me, over the last dozen years, and it just makes sense to finish things up in a noble manner. And we would all be disappointed if this music just went away.
I think you ll dig it. Hell, some of you have even heard a new riff on the web, or have been down to hang with me in the studio and heard more than just a minute clip. And yeah, a very brief bit of that clip was from Tokyo, but the rest of the song was written here in AZ while I was arranging the rest of the parts.
So now, for those of you not related to Forest Gump, you may see that there has never been any change that wasn’t prompted by a desire to improve things, and an outcome that was better than expected.
Excluding Chris guest appearance, there will not be a revisiting anymore of old Megadeth players, anymore than there will be a ’dave Mustaine in Metallica.
I tried to negotiate a reunion, but things were better left alone. Let sleeping dogs lie, ya know?! The reasons of the failure are very personal and I do not want to discuss them, in the event that things ever change.
’droogs, I know what I am doing, I trust in Vinnie and Jimmy as much as I did any of the other players I have recorded with over the last 20 years and the last 20,000,000+ records I have sold worldwide. At the very least, if you are not impressed, at least you will have something to bitch about for another 20 years.
Love and bruises to you all. To be continued, trust me.
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It’s about freakin time Dave got it going again. – said 1doug on Feb 02, 2004
Yeah he rocks, but they are getting kinda old… .Maybe they should consider a name change. How about Metamucil!?!! 😆 😆 😆 😆 – said Child of the Light on Feb 02, 2004
MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has revealed the track listing for the group’s new CD, tentatively due later in the year through Sanctuary Records. It is as follows: 01. Blackmail The Universe 02. Shadow Of Death 03. My Kingdom 04. Of Mice And Men 05. Truth Be Told 06. The Scorpion 07. Kick The Chair 08. Something That I’m Not 09. Tears In A Vial 10. Die Dead Enough 11. Back In The Day Mustaine has also posted the following message in the band’s official forum: ’droogies! Well, the day has come and I am packing it in. Yesterday was the last day in the studio, I finished the last solo and the last sentence of the last song, and the week before all of the remixes were done, so . . . it is time now to prepare all of the goofy administrative stuff that goes into an album. I was listening down to all of the songs until after 11:30 PM last night when I finally told Jeff Balding that I had to go. I had a meeting to be at, at 7:00 AM this morning, but as you can see I didn’t make it because I got really ill again. The songs to me are fantastic. There is a lot going on, there are amazing solos by both Polie and myself, loads of double bass, fast parts, slow parts, beautiful singing, Mustaine snarls, yelling, gang vocals, voice-overs, special effects, and layers of intricate sounds in the background that Jeff and I are deciding on what will help the song and what will not. For example, last night we were working for almost half an hour on whether or not to put the sound of a jail cell door clanging shut (kinda like in Captive Honour ) in a song called Kick the Chair. We ended up muting it for now, but it was a tough decision because there is a lot going on right there already (you ll see soon). This incredible amount of layering, I believe, will be 100% acceptable and expected when I start on my solo work, but for the MEGADETH music that we have all grown to love and enjoy, I have to be cautious. ’don’t want to get slagged here at my own boards now, do I? I am excited as hell to know that I am going to see the old guard today. Jeff Young got in last night, and Chuck Behler and Nick Menza come in today. I have told them all that I am not going to be there, because I wanted to surprise them, and pop in to see the looks on their faces after they hear what we all did to make them shine! I also just want to see them and tell them thanks and that I love them and I wouldn’t be where I am today without what they did with me. Jimmy DiGrasso couldn’t make it because his precious daughter is having a birthday today and I fully understand his decision it was the right thing to do. So he will be participating in writing, as will Marty because of his priorities in his new life. Junior is going to be filmed in the immediate future as is Chris Poland. Kelly Lemieux and Lee Ving are going to have something to say, hopefully, in print too for the MD.45 project, and there are two bonus tracks and three tiny segments that were to have been used as segues on the original release but were not. I want to take this time to personally thank some people that have made this whole project complete: To Lance Dean [Pre-production engineer, Assistant Engineer, Pro Tools Editor, Project Foreman] LD, you are my brother and I am so amazed at our friendship. Ever since TWNAH you have been there for me. Ya don’t say much, but your looming mass, and gentle demeanor make me feel safe, no matter what sh*t is currently on its way to the fan. To Ralph Patlan [Engineer, Assistant Engineer] Talladega, I had no idea you were as good as you are. John has no idea how fortunate he is to have you representing him. I hope that this is just the beginning of many projects that we work on (MEGADETH, Mustaine, new bands, old band re-mixes, etc.). Take care and no one will ever know about the bass part. To my assistants Scott Sarge Harrison, Bo Bodiac Caldwell, and Cathy Vericolli [Pro Tools operators, Art Directors, Background Vocals, Administrative Aides, and kind audience for my silly lunch and dinner stories everyday] Guys, you are the best assistants I have ever had in a studio. You guys made this entire project effortless and fun even when it was starting to not be fun. My best wishes to you all in everything that you do and I hope to gainfully employ you soon. To Keith Schreiber [Pro Tools Editor, Pre-Production Assistant Engineer] Keith, you keep getting better every day. Blessings to you, your wife, and your new son Justus. Thank you for all of the hard work that you did, you are really good. I hope to use you on something musical soon and not just engineering. To the other interns: Graham, Robert, James, and the few skuzzy dudes and the freaky chick who ate Philly cream cheese by the block in the beginning that thankfully left I am grateful to you all, especially the skuzzy dudes and Philly for leaving, Graham thanks for all of the candy runs, and I hope that we made friends with the people down at RA. My best wishes to you too in the music industry. To John Harris [Phase Four studio owner] Thanks for letting me come into your studio. I am glad that you made the repairs that you did for me. I know that it must be hard to make the choices that you did, because in order to have me there, you had to do a lot of scrambling, repair work, and also the lock-out cost you, but I hope that everyone who is in the Phoenix metro area will consider your place for their recording needs. To CRAS [Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences] Thank you for supplying me with your interns. I know the situation in which you provided them and your apprehension for putting your students back over there, and all I can say is these kids were great. You should be proud. To my teachers Ric Flauding, Darien Bennett, Michael Guido, and Rick Linamen [Guitar Teacher and Pastors] Thanks for keeping me glued together during this marathon. I especially appreciate how you have made me feel comfortable being dependent on someone. I have never wanted to depend on people, but you have shown me that there are people out there that you can depend on (just like there are people who are waiting to screw me). I fell a bit during this mega-session and you were there to help hold me up. To John Orkiseski [Personal Assistant] Jon O, thank you. Thanks so very much for all that you do. You mean very much to me and my family. I never thought that I would actually be friends with a drummer, but it just shows to go ya! To Jeff Balding [Co-Producer, Engineer] El Duce, what can I say? Go Predators! The Raiders are still cooler than the Titans too! Seriously, you have coaxed what I feel is the best work out of me over the years, and excluding the outside influences to reek havoc on what we do, when we do it, there is something magical about working with you. I ain’t queer or nothing, but I love you man! To my Family I am coming home! Thank you for giving me back to MEGADETH for the last four months. I promise this will have been worth it. To Dave McRobb, and the system lords I am so honored by your dedication and dignity. I could not have chosen you from a list and done any better regarding grace, tact, humor, knowledge, courtesy and tolerance with the Droogies. I plan on thanking all of you face-to-face soon. Dave you are my brother and I am blessed to have you in my life, as well as these fine people that you have assembled for the cause. And to you the Droogs! I have no words to express the constant joy, and humor that you bring to my life. You are a bright spot in my day. And even though there are people that may try to hurt me with their words, posts, threads etc., I know that the majority of you would be there with me shoulder-to-shoulder if we ever needed each other. I pledge this next period of my musical career to doing things right and having fun with you all, unlike any way or thing that I have done in the past. So . . . I have only left out my managers and the labels which goes without saying and of course my Lord, who gave me back my arm and the ability to play again (I believe better than before, too). I have surrendered my career to the one and my life and soul to the other and I can only say that I am in a place of peace that I have never known. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, to the managers and to the Lord for keeping me off of the scrap heap. In closing, I told Jeff last night that I was already thinking of my next record. But then a little voice told me, I will kill you if you say that again! Happy Easter to you all, and I won’t be posting for a few days, so Peace and Love to you over this holiday weekend. – said PAUZED on Apr 04, 2004
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